China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate

WASHINGTON — When he first appeared on social media, the user known as Harlan claimed to be a New Yorker and a war veteran who Donald Trump for president. Harlan said he was 29 and his profile picture showed a smiling, handsome young man.

A few months later, Harlan underwent a transformation, now claiming to be 31 and from Florida.

New research into Chinese disinformation networks targeting American voters shows that Harlan’s claims are as fictional as his profile picture, which analysts say was created using artificial intelligence.

As voters prepare to cast their ballots this fall, China has made plans of its own, cultivating networks of fake social media users designed to mimic Americans. Whoever or wherever he is, Harlan is a small part of a larger effort by American adversaries to use social media to influence and subvert American political discourse.

The account was traced to Spamouflage, a Chinese disinformation group, by analysts at Graphika, a New York-based firm that tracks online networks. Spamouflage has been known to online researchers for years, earning its nickname for its habit of spreading large amounts of seemingly unrelated content alongside disinformation.

“One of the world’s largest covert online influence operations — an operation run by Chinese state actors — has become more aggressive in its efforts to infiltrate and influence U.S. political conversations in the run-up to the election,” Graphika Chief Intelligence Officer Jack Stubbs told The Associated Press.

Intelligence and national security officials have said that Russia, China And Iran have all set up online influence operations aimed at American voters ahead of the November elections. Russia remains the biggest threat, intelligence officials say, even as Iran has become more aggressive in recent months, secretly support US protests war in Gaza and try to hack in the email systems of the two presidential candidates.

However, China has a more cautious, nuanced approach. Beijing sees little advantage in supporting one presidential candidate over another, intelligence analysts say. Instead, China’s disinformation efforts focus on campaign issues that are particularly important to Beijing — such as U.S. policy toward Taiwan — as it tries to undermine confidence in elections, voting and the US in general.

Officials have said it is a long-term effort that will continue long after Election Day, as China and other authoritarian countries seek to use the internet to undermine democratic rule. support for democracy.

A message left at the Chinese embassy in Washington was not immediately returned.

Compared to armed conflict or economic sanctions, online influence operations can be a low-cost, low-risk way to project geopolitical power. But given the growing reliance on digital communications, the use of online disinformation and fake information networks is only likely to increase, said Max Lesser, senior analyst for emerging threats at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a national security think tank in Washington.

“We’re going to see a broadening of the playing field when it comes to influence operations, where it’s not just Russia, China and Iran, but smaller players getting involved,” Lesser said.

According to Lesser, that list could include not only countries, but also criminal organizations, domestic extremist groups and terrorist organizations.

When analysts first noticed Spamouflage five years ago, the network tended to post generic pro-Chinese, anti-American content. In recent years, the tone has become more strident as Spamouflage has expanded and started targeting divisive political issues such as gun control, crime, race relations, and support for Israel during the war in Gaza. The network also began creating large numbers of fake accounts designed to imitate American users.

Spam accounts don’t post much original content, instead using platforms like X or TikTok to recycle and repost content from far-right and far-left users. Some accounts appeared designed to appeal to Republicans, while others targeted Democrats.

While Harlan’s accounts managed to gain traction — a video mocking President Joe Biden was viewed 1.5 million times — many of the accounts created by the Spamouflage campaign did not. It’s a reminder that online influence operations are often a numbers game: The more accounts, the more content, the greater the chance that a single post will go viral.

Many of the accounts recently linked to Spamouflage went out of their way to pass themselves off as Americans, sometimes in obvious ways. “I am an American,” one account proclaimed. Some gave themselves away by using stilted English or odd word choices. Some were more clumsy than others: “Broken English, brilliant brain, I love Trump,” read one account’s bio.

Harlan’s profile picture, which Graphika researchers believe is made using AIwas identical to an account previously associated with Spamouflage. Messages sent to the person who managed Harlan’s accounts were not returned.

Several accounts linked to Spamouflage are still active on TikTok and X.